Jeremy Clarkson reveals filming of “heartache” in agricultural TV series

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Jeremy Clarkson on a tractor

Clarkson suffered from bad weather, disobedient animals, and planning permit headaches while running the farm.

Notably, there are many things that involve Jeremy Clarkson. Bicycle lanes, electric cars, vegan food, etc. The broadcaster and columnist have built their careers by saying provocative things about provocative subjects.

But his latest television series, following him at the age of 61 trying to run his own farm in the Cotswolds, tests his patience, which has already reached its limits.

Clarkson’s Farm will change the direction of presenters, usually known at the front of car shows and ITV’s recent “Fu Wants to a Millionaire.”

But for the last two years, cameras have been tracking him on Chipping Norton’s farm, fighting his disobedient animals, problematic weather, broken tractors, unresponsive crops, and strict pesticide laws. .. The eight episodes confirm that the farmer is an extraordinarily hard task, not without doubt.

It is no exaggeration to say that he initially underestimated this challenge. “I’ve been running this farm since 2008, but I’m not really involved at all,” Clarkson says prior to launch. “The village guy ran it and then retired. I don’t know what it was, but I just thought,’I can.’

“You sowed the ground, the weather happened, and you really thought that food would grow, so I thought,’It’s not difficult,’ but it’s very difficult and the heartache is extraordinary. Yes, and in addition to the surprisingly low wages, so I thought so. If someone filmed what I was doing, some of the losses would be offset. “

Jeremy Clarkson who keeps sheep on the farm

Clarkson didn’t like killing sheep, but said, “You have to do it, it’s a job.”

Heartache refers to the difficult decisions Clarkson has to make throughout the series, such as putting a sheep down. “No one likes to kill animals,” he commented. doing. “I can’t say’killing animals is fun’. You’ll be mentally ill or socially ill. So you can’t enjoy it. You have to do it. This is business. I. We all like to roast. “

He pauses. “Well, I’m grateful that some people eat seeds and weeds these days, but ordinary people eat meat and like Sunday roast, so of course, that’s my first time. It was an experience. I almost abandoned my responsibility to keep sheep. ”After going to the slaughterhouse and handing it over to others, I thought,’No, you have to do it.’ “

(Despite being Clarkson’s regular target, the number of vegans in the UK is Has increased rapidly in recent years, The number of restaurants and food brands offering vegan products is increasing. )

The new series is the first stand-alone television venture for Amazon Prime Video that he joined after Clarkson was dismissed from Top Gear in 2015, with him, Richard Hammond, and James May that year. When they signed up for the streaming service in the second half, each was in solo TV format in addition to the episodes of the Grand Tour they signed up for.

As a result, May launched a cooking show, Hammond stood before the survival show, and Clarkson is now harvesting crops and participating in sheep auctions.

James May, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond

In May, Clarkson and Hammond signed their own TV series in addition to the Grand Tour when they signed to Amazon.

He faced a never-ending challenge while filming, but resolved it while talking to a journalist.

“Weather, weather, weather, weather, Brexit, weather, Covid, weather, weather, sheep, I think these were the 10 biggest problems we had,” he says. “Five weather records were recorded in 12 months. All the farmers around here told me,’You can’t choose a worse year to start farming.’ Putting the seeds on the ground. I couldn’t even do it. It was ridiculous because the rain didn’t stop for nine weeks. “

“And we came out [the bad weather] It was 30 degrees of pure sunshine, “said Caleb Cooper, a 22-year-old tractor driver and farm worker who enlisted to guide Clarkson throughout the series.

Many would say that unstable weather is right for Clarkson. After years of fronting the motor show Until recently, Ignoring environmental issues, Clarkson is now directly affected by environmental issues. “Yes, I see the irony of being ruined by global warming and at least climate change,” he admits.

But he adds: (The interview will be conducted on a particularly cold and rainy day in mid-May.)

Jeremy Clarkson at Didley Squat Farm

Clarkson came up with the name Didley Squat Farm as a casual reference to low crop yields.

Didley Squat Farm was named by Clarkson as a carefree reference to its poor yields. But long before Amazon announced the release date of the show, the farm was headlined, but there’s not always a good reason.

The council recently instructed Clarkson: Remove the steel roof he installed Without proper planning permission.Meanwhile, some locals said that his farm store Impair the viability of other businesses As a result of trying to relax restrictions on the sale of local produce, in the area.

Other challenges were raised by Covid’s pandemic and Brexit’s tooth-growing problem (Clarkson remained loyal). “I tried to grow the durum wheat used to make pasta, but the other day I found out that I was stuck in the curry dock for three weeks in the middle of the planting season, because of Brexit,” he says. ..

“I’m sure this situation will settle down. Of course, it’s very good for the spread of the vaccine. I first admitted, but I don’t think it’s particularly effective for anything else I’m doing. Hmm” “

On the contrary, in one episode, he actually appears to be hampered by EU regulation. He was clearly dissatisfied with the ban on neonicotinoids when one of Clarkson’s fields failed to forage oilseed rape. “Thanks to the beetles, £ 4,000 has been lost. The EU does not allow beetles to be killed,” he commented.

European Union banned many neonicotinoids As a result of harmful ecological effects-especially on bees. Clarkson later admitted that it was “necessary” to outlaw them.

Jeremy Clarkson participating in a sheep auction

In an early episode of the series, Clarkson can be seen participating in a sheep auction.

Probably the biggest problem is who actually to see This series? The target audience isn’t entirely clear, and it’s unlikely that petrol enthusiasts who were watching Clarkson’s previous show would suddenly become obsessed with farming shows.

“The BBC has many agricultural programs and there is a clear desire for them,” he replies when we ask. “There are usually two ways to farm. One is American industrial farming, and we hear horrifying reports of several acres of cow-filled sheds in all directions. The other is fresh. Kate Humble has a newborn lamb on straw.

“And in reality, most British agriculture is something in between. In fact, it’s pretty good and we’re doing our best to take care of the environment and animals. There are high standards. A love letter to agriculture and the English countryside “

He concludes: [agricultural]… yes, I hope people find it interesting. If a lot of my audience came out of the car and thought,’Oh, I didn’t know about agriculture,’ that’s a good thing, and some farmers saw me make a mistake and said,’I did it. I did it. ” “

Clarkson’s Farm will be released on Amazon Prime Video on June 11th.

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